Friday, November 25, 2011

Lightened up, healthier Jambalaya

One of my favorite meals, especially in the Autumn and Winter months, is Jambalaya - This recipe was adapted from a recipe my husband found a few years ago on the internet that used summer sausage, which we had a few of as part of a Christmas Gift box from Swiss Colony or Figis. In my version, I use brown rice, instead of white, increased the veggies a bit and replaced the high fat summer sausage with a low fat chicken sausage.

(Full ingredient list is at the end of the post)

There area number of chicken sausages on the market now, so look for a flavor that is low in fat and a flavor that appeals to you - The one I used here was the most point friendly I've found so far. It's a little different every time I make it - between trying different chicken sausages and different types of tomatoes. The original recipe called for stewed tomatoes, but I use whatever appeals to me at the time :)

This one I found at our local ShopRite and is only 2 PPV per link; most I've found have been 3 PPV per link.

When I saw this new flavor, I just thought it was perfect for Jambalaya - use whatever variety you feel will work for you :)

Start by dicing 3 medium celery stalks, 1 large red onion and 2 small bell peppers - I used a red and an orange bell pepper for more nutrition; colored peppers have *much* more vitamin C than green and I personally prefer their flavor, I rarely ever buy green bell peppers any more...

Sometimes I use pre-cooked (leftover) chicken, but this time I used 15 oz (raw weight) boneless skinless chicken breast that I browned and cubed.

Add 1 Tbs Canola or Olive Oil to a large skillet or chef's pan and add the veggies - saute until onions are translucent.

Add 1 1/2 cups brown rice - I like brown basmati for this - and saute for a few minutes to toast the rice - be careful not to scorch the rice mixture or you'll have to start over from scratch :o

Add one can stewed or diced tomatoes of your choice, 2 cups water, 1 large or 2 small bay leaves and salt and pepper - cover and simmer 25-30 minutes or until rice is tender - if all liquid hasn't been absorbed, remove lid, turn heat up a bit and simmer, stirring, until liquid is absorbed/cooked off.

Remove bay leaf/leaves, add cooked chicken, sliced sausage, and about 3 Tbs chopped fresh parsley and cooke another coupleminutes to heat through. I also added 5 oz thawed cooked peeled shrimp (I always keep a bag in the freezer) at the end and stirred it in - they'll be warmed by the hot dish - you don;t want to really cook them or they may become tough.

Yum! I like mine with a good drizzle of hot sauce :)

For 6 servings, this dish came to 9 PPV - other times, with other choices of sausage etc, it has been anywhere from 10 to 12 PPV.

1 comment:

Too bad you didn't keep your blog going. I have a bento blog and a cooking blog, and I post more to my tiny skillet blog. The tiny bento will still get new post now and then. I think many would enjoy your cooking blog even though there are so many out there. Usually you find your own little community within. Good Luck!

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About Me

I am a very happily married woman who loves food, loves to go out, loves to drink and all that loving life has added a lot of me to love ;P After chatting with a friend on FB who had wonderful results using the Whole 30/Paleo plan, I bought the book It Starts with Food for my Kindle app and read, read, read :) In a few days, I start on the journey in hopes of similar results to my friend!